Metta World Peace's suspension is finally over

Metta World Peace returns to the Lakers ... and finds them on the brink of elimination.

With the Lakers being blown out Thursday night in the second half of Game 6, World Peace's seven-game NBA suspension for elbowing Oklahoma City's James Harden expired. He is eligible to play again Saturday, when with a Game 6 loss they will be pushed to a do-or-die Game 7 at Staples Center against Denver.

If the Lakers win, they would move on to begin a second-round series with Game 1 Monday night and Game 2 Wednesday night, both in Oklahoma City. World Peace has said he didn't directly contact Harden because of the likelihood the Lakers would face the Thunder in the postseason.

World Peace was certainly missed in the Lakers' first six playoff games. He would've been the defender -- not Steve Blake -- when Andre Miller was carving up the Lakers' defense with cagey moves. Devin Ebanks, the replacement starter at small forward, had a nice showing after World Peace was ejected in that April 22 game vs. the Thunder, but he has gotten worse and worse -- unable even to get back in transition defense consistently and properly.

Lakers coach Mike Brown skipped Ebanks entirely to start the second half Thursday night after more mistakes in the Lakers' poor start to Game 6. But sore-ankled Matt Barnes, expected to carry a big load while World Peace was out, stayed inconsistent -- especially with a 3-point stroke that led him to make just three of 23 attempts in this series.

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